Cagewriter

Siver edges Wiman in a tight decision, loser storms out of the building

LAS VEGAS - Matt Wiman was convinced he'd won the fight and so was much of the crowd in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but that's not the way the judges saw it. Denis Siver did enough in the first and third rounds to take a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards, in bout No. 3 on the UFC 132 pay-per-view.

When the decision was announced Wiman ripped his hand away from the referee, stormed out of the cage and actually left the building. Wiman (13-6, 7-4 UFC) eventually came back after walking around the parking lot.

"I did a lot of damage. Maybe he got the decision because he threw more punches, but they weren't effective. Effective striking and grappling is what they say and he didn't have that at all," said Wiman.

The numbers backed up the judges. FightMetric said Siver outlanded Wiman 128-34. In the third round, while Wiman was 2-of-5 on takedowns, Siver had a strike advantage of 47-6. Over the 15 minutes, Wiman was good 5-of-16 takedown attempts.

It had to be the second round that convinced Wiman he'd rolled to the victory. Wiman dominated Siver on the ground. He got him down with 3:50 left in the round and blasted away. A nasty left elbow busted open Siver's forehead and he bled like a stuck pig for the next few minutes. Siver never got back to his feet.{ysp:more}

The first round was one the more tightly contested stanzas of the night. It went back and forth as Siver threw with vicious intent. He landed the better shots on the feet showed off some good takedown defense. Apparently, Wiman didn't press on the gas pedal enough in the final round. He scored a couple of takedowns, but didn't inflict the same damage he did in the second.

For Siver (19-7, 8-4 UFC) to escape with a win was huge. Because of a his slugging style, the Russian fighting out Germany, is a promotion and fan favorite.

"I'm glad to win this fight. It was a very hard fight. My striking was a little bit better. My takedown defense was a little bit better. Altogether, I was just a little bit better tonight. Again, it was a very tough fight," said Siver.

After starting off his career in the UFC at 1-3, Siver has ripped off wins in eight-of-nine. He's also won four straight.